How the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle Really Started

Also popularly known as the Devil's Triangle, the Bermuda Triangle is a region in the North Atlantic Ocean (roughly between the island of Bermuda, Florida, and Puerto Rico), said to be the cause of mysterious disappearances of a number of aircraft and ships. The US Navy stated that the Bermuda Triangle does not exist, and the name "Bermuda Triangle" is not recognized by the US Board on Geographic Names. Disappearances in this area have been attributed mostly to paranormal and extraterrestrial activities (aliens).

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In the pre-1900s, the primary mode of transport across oceans was shipping. Considering the people back then went back and forth across what we now call the Bermuda Triangle, why were there no reports or historical documentation about the triangle? What really started this famous legend?

Let's start with Flight 19.

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It was the 5th of December, 1945. At around 2PM, five military Avenger airplanes took flight far out over the gulf of Florida for a routine mission. All the planes were in perfect running condition and were fully fueled. The flight leader Charles Taylor, was an experienced pilot with about 2500 flying hours on mostly Avenger-type aircraft, while the trainee pilots had a total of 300 flying hours and 60 flying hours in an Avenger. There were a total of 14 airmen including the crew.

By around 3:40PM, the training mission was almost complete and the planes were on their way home. This is where mysterious things started to happen. Robert Cox, a ground-based flight instructor, picked up transmitted messages between the Flight 19 planes while he was tuning his radio. Captain Edward Powers, one of the Flight 19 crew, was heard saying, "I don’t know where we are. We must have got lost after that last turn." Another voice said, "Everything looks strange, even the ocean," and another one said, "It looks like we’re entering white water… we’re completely lost," and the last message received was "All planes close up tight ... we'll have to ditch unless landfall ... when the first plane drops below 10 gallons, we all go down together."

The last message was intercepted at around 6:20PM and after that there was total radio silence. The five Flight 19 planes, and the 14 airmen aboard, all disappeared mysteriously without a trace.

Up to this day the disappearance of Flight 19 remains one of the greatest mysteries of the 20th century. There were other planes and ships that disappeared in what we call the Bermuda Triangle but the disappearance of Flight 19 fueled the legend that there is a mysterious force surrounding the the area.

There is, however, a possible logical explanation to all of the disappearances. The area where the Bermuda Triangle is supposedly located covers an area with a widely-known phenomenon called magnetic deviation. Magnetic deviation is an error enforced in a compass by local magnetic fields. When magnetic deviation is in play, the angular difference between the magnetic north and the geographical north must be computed and enforced on a compass, otherwise the bearing will not stay true. This is believed to have caused numerous aircraft and ships to miscalculate their route, leading to planes missing landing strips and ships crashing on rocky islands.

While the magnetic deviation theory may hold the secret to the disappearances, it can not explain another phenomenon related to the disappearance. Flight 19 is supposed to have a crew of 15 people, but Marine Corporal Allan Kosnar (the 15th crew) was given special permission not to fly on that particular day because, according to him, he had a premonition of danger.

Shortly after losing contact with the Flight 19 crew, a PBM Mariner plane (with 13 men on board) was sent to look for Flight 19.. but it also disappeared without a trace, fueling the legend even more.



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